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Chapter one
Neil On Duty
Ileanedbackinthe lifeguard stand, ran a hand through my sun-bleached hair, and promptly knocked my sunglasses off. They fell to the sand below.Shit. I hoped they didn’t break and jumped down to get them.
This whole day had been frustratingly bad. And it wasn’t the first fucked-up day, either. No, not the first time that lazy Tanner had called off sick. He wasn’t sick—he was hungover.
I grabbed the glasses and shook them to get the sand off when a flash of something caught my eye, and I looked out over the water.Where? Where?
There.
Someone caught in the rip current. I dropped the glasses, grabbed the rescue can, and took off running along the beach, trying to calculate how far and how fast to run and where to enter the water to catch up and drag the person out of the tide.
My feet pounded the sand. My arms pumped as I ran, and my chest heaved as my lungs fought for air. The sweat dripped down my forehead, but I ignored it and kept running.
I wasn’t going to make it.
I had to make it.
Waves crashed over my feet when I entered the water, and I saw a bright flash and then the tide shifted. A massive blond dude on a surfboard skimmed across the water as if he controlled the currents. He jumped in and pulled a body out, then draped it over his board and paddled toward shore.
I dropped the can.Unbelievable! I stood there, mouth agape, wondering where the blond surfer had come from. What happened to the rip current? They didn’t disappear like that. They pushed hard, moving away from the shoreline. To escape, you had to go with the flow until you were far enough out the tide eased up, then swim parallel to the shore. It took time and effort and exhausted the regular swimmer. Sometimes, a riptide only lasted a few minutes, but mostly, it was hours or longer. But even so, I had never seen one simply vanish at the most opportune moment.
It didn’t matter because the next moment, the surfer ran forward with a girl in his arms and released her at my feet. “She’s not breathing.”
Dropping to my knees beside her in the warm sand, I tilted her head to the side to stick a finger in her mouth to check for a clogged airway, but it seemed clear. I leaned over her and blew four strong breaths into her mouth.
I moved my cheek close enough to feel if she breathed out.Nothing.
I repeated the breaths.
Nothing
One more time. “Come on, come on,” I grumbled as I checked for breathing.
Then she coughed. Finally. Water poured from her mouth, spilling out a ton of relief with it. Sirens of an ambulance blared through the air, and hopefully, it was on its way. “Lay still. Did anyone call nine-one-one?”
“I did. They’re coming.” The deep, raspy voice belonged to the surfer.
“Good.” I ignored my curiosity and focused on the girl, ensuring she still breathed regularly. She could still have water in her lungs or go into shock.
Once the ambulance had taken the girl away and her family had been located, I turned to the surfer who’d brought her in. He was sitting on his board at the edge of the water, letting the foamy waves lap over his feet. He leaned back, supported by his arms, his hands dug into the sand, and his wet hair fell like a golden mane around his shoulders like a royal cloak. He was simply stunning with his muscular shoulders and chest.
“Hi, I’m Neil. Thank you.”
“For what?” He didn’t even look up.
“You saved her life. Bringing her in so fast—hey, how did you do that?”
The surfer shook his head, then stood. “I didn’t do anything.” He grabbed his board, tucked it under his arm, then walked away.
“Wait. What’s your name?”
He looked over his shoulder, and I thought he was checking me out. “Jax.” He jutted his chin up but kept walking.
I felt blown off. The guy didn’t owe me anything, though. And although I was extremely attracted to the god-likeJax, the man was probably very straight. Ah, so why was he checking me out? Maybe not straight, but the way he strode off across the sand said he wasn’t interested.
It didn’t matter. I had to get back to work. My relief wasn’t due for another half-hour.Oh, the joys of working at the Palm Oasis, number one resort in Cambria Bay!
